All Saints, Loughborough

When we were first setting up ARWMP in 2013, Chris and I visited All Saints, Loughborough, the main church in town. We were `appalled to see that the fine WW1 memorial was high up in a walled off part of the South aisle and impossible to see clearly.

Not only that, but the tablets flanking either side which can be seen in the photograph were in fact the WW2 tablets and the three WW1 tablets were just dumped on the floor under the high altar. Extraordinary.

We contacted the PCC and were put in touch with a group who was just starting to plan the re- ordering process with English Heritage and the Diocesan authorities to rectify this along with other changes to the church layout.

It was a very large project of which the relocation of the restored memorials to a better position on the North aisle wall would cost some £32,000 including the removal of some slate donor tablets and reconfiguration of some pews.

At that time in our history we were fairly well off, having received a most generous grant from HLF. After many meetings we made an offer to support this work to the tune of £15,000.

The end result was a readily accessible WW1 memorial, reunited with its three WW1 tablets of names along with the two WW2 tablets.

It was a large sum of money for us to spend but had we not done so, the project in Loughborough would have dragged on while these additional funds were raised. It was a great boost to the WW1 centenary events in that town.

For details of the low down round headed memorial see the next page about Holy Trinity, Loughborough.